Paleography Seminar: Black and Indigenous Cimarronaje in the Spanish Caribbean, 1492-1886

This is an introductory course in Caribbean history with a focus on “cimarronaje,” or rebellion, resistance, and flight. Through guided transcription exercises, collaborative workshops, and independent archival research, students will gain practical experience using historical evidence to reconstruct the lives of Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities whose histories are preserved in colonial archives. In 1978, Afro-Colombian artist recorded his hit song ‘Rebelión,” including lines such as “esclavitud perpetua,” a reference to the 1455 Romanus Pontifex Papal Bull, and lines like “No le pegue a la negra.” This course, a paleography seminar, reveals that history of Black and Indigenous resistance. Students should have fluency in Spanish or the equivalent of HISP 0400 or connect with the instructor to assess appropriateness for the course.